Janet Kaiser on tue 25 jan 00
------------------
In =22POTTERY AND CERAMICS: from common brick to fine china=22 Published =
1949, Ernst
Rosenthal wrote the following :
Vessels excavated in the province of Shensi are assumed to have been made in=
the
time of the Han Dynasty between 185 and 80 B.C. They exhibit a greater =
degree of
artistry and craftsmanship (than earlier wares) and are a kind of stoneware,
with brown, bluish-green and cream-coloured glazes. In many books these pots=
are
described as the first =22porcelain=22 articles made, in which case Chinese
porcelain was sixteen centuries ahead of European porcelain. Other authors,
however, point out that these pieces were something between stoneware and
porcelain since they are not white and translucent enough to be termed
porcelain.
No further progress of a spectacular nature in the art of pottery is =
reported in
Chinese manuscripts in the following five or six centuries. Improvements in
pottery were gradual, but patronised by successive emperors, the art =
increased
in perfection and beauty.
In the time of the Sui Dynasty (AD 581 to 617) and at the beginning of the
following Tang Dynasty (AD 618 to 906) very remarkable translucent ceramic
products were made. At that time skilful Chinese workmen were trying to =
imitate
glass articles which had found their way to China from India. Using kaolin =
and
other local raw materials they succeeded in making an opaque, glassy =
material
which was most probably the first real china ever made.
The Tang Dynasty witnessed a great advance in all arts, but in painting, =
poetry
and the ceramic art particularly. Stoneware sculptures, some bisque (without
glaze) and others with yellowish white glazes, of great artistic value, were
also made. The tea-drinking habit first reported in the middle of the eighth
century favoured the manufacture of translucent porcelain cups and created =
new
ceramic requirements.
Ceramic art flourished under the succeeding Sung Dynasty (AD 960 to 1290) =
the
porcelain bodies becoming finer and more translucent, and yellow and green
decorating colours being added to the blue. The first =22Flamb=E9=22 vases =
and the
development of the famous Nanking pottery both date from this period. Of all
Chinese pottery, that of the Sung period is the purest, the most dignified =
and
the most expensive.
Under the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1643) Chinese pottery acquired the high
technical perfection which made it so famous. Blue and white porcelain were
decorated with overglaze enamels, and coloured glazes were also lavishly
employed. Although the richness in palette tended to a certain
over-embellishment, the widening of the colour range was accompanied by
simplification in form, and the general impression is always harmonious. One
never feels confused or embarrassed with this ware as one does when looking =
at
certain over-decorated specimens of modern pottery =22inspired=22 by old =
Chinese
examples.
After the Ming periods comes the period of the Emperor K'ang-Hi or K'ang-Hsi
(1662-1722). Ceramic technique and craftsmanship made further progress and
reached a state of highest virtuosity. The most wonderful glazes, underglaze
colours and on-glaze enamels were employed. Many glazes are of great beauty =
and
richness and from the technical point of view unsurpassable. We, who =
nowadays
have scientific laboratories and the recorded work of ceramic scientists at =
our
disposal, are unable to reproduce some of the effects apparently so easily
attained by Chinese potters in that period.
Among the glazes, the =22ox-blood=22 and the =22peach-bloom=22, turquoise =
blue and
aubergine purple, golden brown, black and Celadon green, may be mentioned.
Under-glaze colours - cobalt blue and copper red - were painted or sprayed =
on
the bisque ware and covered with translucent and coloured glazes. Enamel
on-glaze decoration was used, not only on white glazed porcelain but also on=
a
blue and black ground. This enamel decoration was very often done in
=22five-colour=22 painting (green, red, blue, yellow, purple).
The Chinese =22Potteries=22
The main Chinese pottery town was King-Te-Chin. From a description by P=E8re
d'Entrecolles, a Jesuit who visited this town in AD 1712, we learn that it =
bore
comparison with the largest and most popular cities in China. There were =
more
than a million souls, and the pottery materials, even the wood for the =
furnaces,
had to be brought to the town from great distances. The cost of living was =
very
high, yet numerous poor families found employment and were able to exist. =
=22The
young and the old, the lame and the blind, all find work at which they can =
earn
a livelihood by grinding colours or otherwise. Formerly there were only 300
furnaces, now there are nearly 3,000=22 (from Chaffers, The Keramic Gallery)
The Yung Chen and Chien Lung Periods (1723 to 1795)
The artistic standard in these periods was also very high, the material =
being
treated with the greatest virtuosity both from the artistic and technical =
points
of view. Wonderful glazes, several of which are impossible to imitate, were =
used
and the vases, dishes, bowls and cups were modelled in a style which equals =
the
finest achievements of modern studio potters.
Porcelain manufacturing technique in China in those days was based on the
principle of mixing a plastic refractory material which would NOT fuse =
during
the firing with a material which WOULD fuse during firing. The plastic and
refractory material was kaolin (Pain-go or Ngo-T=2Au in old China). The =
fusible
material was Petuntse, a material very similar to our Cornish stone. The =
body
preparation was carried out in a similar way as in the western part of the =
globe
in the days of our grandfathers.
The main difference between Chinese technique and ours was in the mould =
making,
the glaze composition and the glazing. The Chinese made their moulds from =
clay.
They then fired them in order to give them strength and in the firing they
became almost dense (we use porous plaster of Paris moulds). Next the =
plastic
paste was pressed into the moulds. The articles were left in the moulds for =
a
certain time and were then removed from the moulds for drying and glazing =
before
firing (we harden porcelain articles by firing BEFORE glazing). They used a
one-fire process, whereas nowadays for fine china-ware we use a two-fire
process.
The glaze contained much greater amounts of calcium compounds, such as lime,
than our glazes which contain more felspar. This accounts for the greenish
shades of Chinese glazes. Vegetable ashes such as rice straw ash, weed ash,
bracken ash, which are very often rich in line and in phosphorous were =
admixed
to the kaolin and petuntse (the material containing felspar-clay-sand).
The articles were placed in saggers (refractory containers) as in =
present-day
practice, placed in the oven fired very slowly. Firing took about ten days =
and
cooling about the same. Wood was used as fuel.
The Chapel of Art: Home of The International Potters' Path
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales, UK
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
EMAIL: postbox=40the-coa.org.uk
We have server problems. If you cannot access
The CoA web page, please try again later. Thanks=21
| |
|
